Centre Stage PREVIEW
by nattikur cullen
Summary: This is the first chapter only. It's a preview for one of my story idea's.


**Centre Stage – Chapter One**

_Suddenly time, feels like the wind  
It changes everywhere I go  
I'm just trying to fit in  
Now here I stand  
And I'm still just that girl  
I'm following my heart  
In this amazing crazy world_

(Bella's POV)

It was strange that I was considering moving to Forks a good thing. For so long I had convinced myself it was going terribly. I missed Renée, I missed Phil, and I missed the blistering hot sun in my real homeland, Phoenix. Of course there had been a few things happen that had actually been good, but I had chosen to overlook them. Now, of course, all I could see was them. The good things shone out to me now and I could see them for all their glory. There was no denying that coming to Forks had been just right for me.

Back in Phoenix I had been the quiet girl. No one knew my name, no one wanted to. I was invisible, or it had felt like that anyway. My only friend had been an equally quiet girl, Angela Webber. She was a kind girl but we had never really been close. That was my problem, despite the fact that I completely detested attention, I was such a reserved person and I enjoyed spending time by myself. I didn't like getting too close to anyone – it scared me. The only person I'd ever really allowed myself to be close to was my mother, the loving, kind-natured mother she was, but now I had left her I had no one. I'd left her with Phil, her newest addiction, to travel with his baseball team. Now here I was in Forks. I had always despised Forks. It was always very cold and wet in Forks, definitely not a good factor for the uncoordinated, and everything that was supposed to be brown was covered in green mushy stuff. I missed brown, I liked brown. Brown was warm. It represented everything I'd left behind.

Charlie was downstairs waiting for me on my first day of school. He'd wanted to drive me but I had insisted I walked. I told him I would continue walking until I bought a car and he knew better than argue. I was still as stubborn as I had been in my childhood. I'd started trenching through the bitter cold streets already before Charlie set off for work in his cruiser. Charlie was a cop, one of the few that Forks had. That was why I had refused his lift – nothing slows down traffic like a cop.

I grimaced as I stumbled into a large puddle, soaking the foot of my trousers completely. I pulled my raincoat tighter around my waist as I carried on walking, trying to ignore the sodden feeling of the dirty water dripping down my ankle and soaking my socks through. I regretted wearing my trainers and instead wished I had chosen a more sensible pair of boots. Sighing, I brushed my hair out of my face as the wind blew it there. Better not to regret what I had done but to think of what I could do about, I decided.

It had taken me around ten minutes to walk to school, although it had felt like much longer. The car park was still busy by the time I arrived. "Great," I murmured. I let my gaze drop to the ground as I walked so that I wouldn't see the stares. It didn't go as well as I'd planned. Although I couldn't see the stares, I could still hear them.

"That's Isabella Swan!" They said to each other as I passed. It sounded like they were trying to whisper but they weren't exactly doing a very good job of it. One particular voice caught Bella's attention. She walked slower now, wanting to keep up with it. "She's Charlie's daughter. You know the one who lived with his ex-wife, Renée, since she was like a kid? Well, she's back where she belongs. What's wrong with her? Why is she staring at the ground like that? Uh, look at her. Look at Mike! Why is he starting at her? He should be staring at _me_! One day here and she already has his attention. How dare she? Who does she think she is? Personally, I think she should go back to wherever she came from. Phoenix, was it? Well, if she comes from Phoenix shouldn't she be like really tanned? She's so weird."

I groaned. Perfect. I was the new girl – a shiny, new toy. That wouldn't really help me fit in, as if I would fit in anyway.

I froze when she saw a pair of feet walk up to me and slowly, cautiously, I looked up. The girl in front of me was small and pale white, almost as white as I was. She had springy brown girls and wild brown eyes. She and I were so similar it was almost scary. Maybe we could be friends. Distant friends, of course, but still friends.

"Hi there," the girl said. She sounded happy, excited even, but her eyes betrayed her. They were annoyed and frustrated, but it looked as though she was trying to make an effort, so I decided to be friendly. And I recognised that voice from somewhere…

"Hello," I replied slowly. I attempted a smile and hoped it looked almost real.

"I'm Jessica Stanley," the girl said as she flicked her curls over her shoulder. I stiffened as she recognised that voice. So Jessica had been the one who had been talking about me before. I told myself to remember that name, just in case it ever popped up anywhere again. Now that all hope of them becoming friends was out of the window, I tried to think up a way to make sure Jessica never approached me again.

"Uh, excuse me, Jessica?" I asked, my voice hesitant. "Could you introduce me to someone called Mike? Mike…" I trailed off, suddenly remembering that I hadn't been provided with a last name. Nevertheless, it still had the right effect. Jessica stiffened when I had said his name, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening.

"Why do _you_ want to see _him_?" She hissed.

I grinned, the victory overwhelming me. "Oh, never mind. I'll catch up with him later. Hm. I wonder when the next dance is. I hope he doesn't have a date. That will be terribly disappointing." I smiled one last time at Jessica become continuing my walk to the main office, now in a casual stroll. My encounter with Jessica had put me in an unusually good mood.


End file.
